Autonomous Shuttle Bus to Run 12.3km Between Chulsan Station and Gwangmyeong Cave Starting October 7
An autonomous shuttle bus service connecting Chulsan Station and Gwangmyeong Cave will be introduced.
Gwangmyeong City (Mayor Park Seung-won) announced on the 28th that it will begin operating an autonomous shuttle bus 'GM1' on the 12.3-kilometer section between Chulsan Station and Gwangmyeong Cave starting October 7.
A single 15-seat electric bus will operate from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Services will not operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, and public holidays.
The bus will run four times daily, starting with a downbound trip departing Chulsan Station at 10 a.m. heading to Gwangmyeong Cave, followed by an upbound trip departing Gwangmyeong Cave at 11:40 a.m., a downbound trip at 2 p.m., and an upbound trip at 3:40 p.m. The downbound route will stop at 25 stations, and the upbound route at 24 stations.
In particular, the autonomous shuttle bus route connects major tourist attractions including Ori Seowon, Choonghyun Museum, Gihyungdo Literary Museum, and Gwangmyeong Cave, as well as Line 7's Chulsan Station and KTX Gwangmyeong Station, improving accessibility to tourist destinations and expected to contribute to tourism activation.
Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seung-won stated, "We will integrate future mobility technology into citizens' daily lives to enhance travel convenience, and will continue to expand safe and innovative transportation services."
This autonomous shuttle bus operation follows the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's designation last year of the Ori-ro section connecting Chulsan Station and Gwangmyeong Cave as an 'autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone.'
An autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone is an area designated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to promote commercialization of autonomous vehicles and support local traffic problem solutions, with special regulatory exemptions for roads and traffic-related matters for autonomous vehicle operations applied.
The city completed the construction of key autonomous driving support infrastructure in the first half of this year, including road communication equipment, road precision maps, and online signal controllers. Additionally, the city conducted actual road demonstrations using AI-based autonomous driving data and completed system stabilization work in preparation for operation.
The city plans to expand smart transportation services that citizens can experience by connecting the autonomous shuttle bus operation experience with future mobility in Gwangmyeong-Siheung New City Phase 3.
Gwangmyeong-Siheung New City Phase 3 was selected as a development site for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 'Future Mobility City-Type Project' in November 2023, and is planned to be equipped with next-generation mobility services such as robo-taxis, robo-shuttles, and urban air mobility (UAM), along with related infrastructure.